Monthly Archives: December 2008

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I have been tagged by 3 people so I am accepting this honor, thanking them, and passing this honor on to others.Â In case you would like to follow me on Twitter, you can at www.Twitter.com/DianeClancy.Â Part of what I did today was help Susan Elkin get her Twitter set up – www.Twitter.com/SusanElkin if you would like to follow her.

Last night’s post was very, very long!! And I am delighted to hear from one of my European readers that all the explanation was helpful because of the cultural differences in our countries! I had a hunch that people from other countries might not get the subtext. So good.

Today has been a very busy day so this is going to be very short … I would love to hear from you what you would like me to focus on. Tomorrow will be the post about being tagged and Thursday will be Illustration Friday … It would be good for me to look at last year’s goals and see how I did (I haven’t done that) … also it would be useful to look at next year’s goals. But on the other days, what would you like to hear about? Thank you!! Love and blessings to all life!

I have been tagged by 3 people over the last couple of months … and I will be doing my blog tomorrow (Wed at the latest) to respond (and thank) to the tags and to tag some of you!! In the meantime I will share this story I have promised you – a story that inspired me greatly!Â This was something I read (years ago).Â I forget the source and some the of the details may be somewhat inaccurate but sticking with the essential truth of the story.Â (I am better on broad strokes than details around remembering thingsÂ … oh, that can be one of my things to tell you the tagged items tomorrow <grin>.)Â If you want to skip my prologue and epilogue, go right to the story in bold red.

These first paragraphs are giving background information for those unfamilar with these issues. In the United States issues around welfare are seen as a big deal.Â In this country, we give some people a monthly stipend and health care for themselves (and often they have children also) so that they may live. This happens when people apply for help because they cannot do it themselves. In this country there is often a negative stigma to asking for this kind of aid.Â Also many of us who have disabilities have also had to ask for help (disability payments) to survive. Unfortunately, there is a lot of judging by many toward those needing help.

Other countries tend not to have the same judgments about helping people to have a roof over their heads, food in their tummy and health care.Â But in this country there are often pretty tough attitudes toward people needing help.Â (I know -Â I was on disability for a long time – because I needed it to live). People can become dependent on help for sure … but many people use it for a short term assistance until they can keep a job with a livable wage.

There are many other issues that complicate things for people wanting to get a job that will support themselves and their families.Â Some areas have entrenched poverty.Â Often the educational system is not giving everyone equal opportunities to get quality education.Â Also, there are many personal issues that can complicate things for many.Â And, the US, unlike most other so-called developed countries, does not provide health care for all.Â Many people, especially women, have felt they needed welfare because they couldn’t make the jump to a job that provided health coverage for themselves and their children. I tell you this to set the background for this uplifting story.

[THE STORY] There was a group of welfare recipients who were chosen to see if they could work together and figure out how to get off welfare and get back to work.Â Most people would rather be working (in a decent job environment) … rather than collecting welfare.Â But it is often hard to know what steps to take once you get to a place of needing help.Â This was a study set up by someone to see what might help get people another level in their lives.

So this group started meeting and talked about what was in their lives that they needed help with.Â One woman said her screen door was ripped and the landlord wouldn’t return her calls.Â A man spoke up … he said he knew how to fix that and would be delighted to!!Â Out of this interaction, this was the start of his creating his own fix-it business and he was able to become self-supporting.

Another woman shared that it was needing childcare that was the roadblock to her going to the local community college so that she could learn skills to support herself.Â A third woman spoke up, saying that her kids were at home and she would welcome taking care of some others.Â Out of this interaction, the third woman started her own daycare and become self-supporting.Â The second woman completed her degree and was able to get a job so she could support herself and her children.Â [End Story}

This inspires me so much!! It is the whole idea of looking at people and seeing their assets and not just their deficits. The usual welfare system (and disability system) are focused on seeing people as needy and not seeing their strengths also. That was what was (and is) so inspiring to me around this short part of the story that I remember.Â I do think it is important that people contribute to society – and there are many, many ways to contribute.

I think helping people build on their skills is a smart thing to do.Â Most people are eager to be able to give – but it is harder to think about others when your own (and your children’s) basic needs aren’t being met.Â This kind of supporting people to be empowered and self-sufficient is more time and money consuming at the beginning, but has an excellent pay-off.Â It is like giving kids a quality education is much better (and cheaper) for society – in the long run. Remember, any of us could be in a situation of needing help from others!!

If you want to see the 2 articles I wrote in early December (they were the precursors to this), you can see them here (World AIDS Day and Me) and here (HIV/AIDS and Community Organizing). I hope you enjoyed this inspiration of these 4 people … and please forgive all the surrounding details to put it in context for those who live outside the US. Thanks for coming by!

I like to enter the 2 Things Challenge each week. This week is Real / Fake. This is my entry for Real & Fake.Â I hope you like it!! Here are the entries for last week’s Cloud / Nine. Anyone can join in, and I hope you give it a try!! We would love more people playing with us! Details are at this link above.

I was going to do a proper post, but instead I am doing one last day of angels … I have other angels too … but I will stop here for now. Here’s to the holidays!!Â My eyes have gotten very, very tired – probably from overuse … so I am going to lie low (and watch a movie) … <grin>Â I sure need those eyes for all I do … so wish me luck!! I hope you are all doing great!Â Love and blessings to all life!

Joy to you in this whole holiday season!!!Â I have done a little … on Christmas day I got my finances caught up, and today, the day after, we watched a very inspiring movie – DragonFly.Â It is a suspenseful movie – and maybe that seems strange for an uplifting movie, but it is incredible around faith and courage.Â It reminds me that we all have things to do here … and we all have ways of making the world a better place.Â To create my art, which is what I think I am doing at the moment to make the world more full of joy and light, I need to make sure I rest enough and have as much vibrant health as I can.Â Thank you so much for giving me a chance to share this with you …. and feel like I make some kind of impact!!Â Love and blessings to all life!

Everyone have a wonderful, magical Christmas that brings love, joy and happiness to everyone, everywhere!!Â Joy to you in this holiday season!!!Â I hope that each and every person has people around them that cares about them and loves them.Â For those who are feeling lonely, I hope that the internet or other networks bring deep connection and a sense of purpose.Â Love and blessings to all life!

Tonight is Christmas Eve – much of the world celebrates this holiday.Â This is a quick HI to say I am thinking of you … but spending some time resting.Â Hope your holiday season is great – no matter how you celebrate this season!!

Illustration Friday has a challenge every week. I so much enjoy doing this challenge. This week is Voices.Â These Voices in the night are speaking to all the little ones.Â I hope you enjoy this! Illustration Friday is a great way to showcase your work and a wonderful opportunity to meet lots of wonderful people! I encourage you to check it out! Lots of fun people and paintings! Thank you for stopping by!

Thanks for stopping by!! I have been very busy going through email and DEALING with it … instead of thinking … later.Â I am working out a new way to deal with it – otherwise I will just stay swamped.Â So I joined some networking sites and added some of my images (actually now I am using my Etsy Shop and Zazzle Shop flash things as a time saver).Â This is a way to share a lot of my work without the couple of hours I have spent before uploading images.Â Works better for me!!Â Always I am “Diane Clancy” or “Diane Clancy Art” (when Diane Clancy is taken).Â Usually the name has no space and I always use my same icon or avatar … so you will know it is me!

Today I want to share with you Susan Elkin’s Zazzle Shop so you can see what she has done.Â Susan has lots more images she can use too on mugs, cards and postage – yes, you heard correctly!! Postage!!Â Susan’s Zazzle is http://zazzle.com/susanelkin and her blog is http://susanelkin.com/blog. Thanks for checking her out!